(Warsash, So'ton, England)- The second half of the Warsash Spring Series
arrived with a "bang" on 15th April after a break for Easter. Following
three Sundays of light and fickle breezes, competitors were greeted
with a brisk if chilly northerly of 12-14 knots, which unexpectedly rose
to over 20 knots by late morning-- indeed, fresh to frightening with a
bit of nip in the air! The Black Group fleet raced from a start line on Ryde Middle bank on courses designed to include the occasional reach, interspersed with beats and runs. The start sequence stayed on schedule until an over eager IRC3 class forced a general recall. All classes shared common marks for the start and end of each race with the middle section of each course suitably adjusted to suit the different classes. In IRC 1 class, the J/111 JEEZ LOUISE skippered by James Arnell sailed for the first time in the series and finished 3rd, just beating out Ivan Trotman's J/122 JOLOU in 4th.
The
J/109 class has a dozen entries this year and so far each race has
produced a different winner. This week it was newcomer Jonnie Goodwin’s
HARLEQUIN that was top boat. This was his first race in the series and
the team put in a very strong performance to beat David & Mary
McGough’s JUST SO by over four minutes. If HARLEQUIN competes similarly
in the next two weeks, there could well be a shake up in the results. At
this stage, Mike & Sarah Wallis' JAHMALI are leading with a 2-2-1-3
scoreline for 8 pts, followed in 2nd by David Mcleman's OFFBEAT with a
4-1-3-4 tally for 12 pts. Lying third id Owain Franks & Jean
Lockett's JYNNAN TONNYX with a 5-6-2-6 with 19 pts. Less than four
points behind in 4th and 5th, respectively, are David & Mary
McGough's JUST SO and Paul Griffith's JAGERBOMB.In the mixed J/Sprit class, another newcomer had a good day. The J/105 JOURNEYMAKER V (Chris Jones), as the biggest boat in the class, reveled in the conditions to take line honours but three minutes behind him and less than a boat’s length apart Tony Mack’s MCFLY just beat the J/97 INDULJENCE (Nick & Adam Munday) to the line to take the class win on his first outing. Class leader J'RONIMO (David Greenhalgh & John Taylor) could only manage fourth in their slightly smaller J/92 for a 1-1-1-4 record for 7 pts. Second is Nick and Adam Munday's INDULJENCE with a 5-2-2-2 scoreline for 11 pts. Third is Andy Howe's J/92 BLACKJACK with a 3-3-3-6 score for 15 pts. Fourth is John Cooper & Ian Townend's J/92 JAMMIN and fifth is Chris Jones' seasoned offshore campaigners on JOURNEYMAKER 5.
On
the White Group sportsboat course, the J/80s were given a gate at the
bottom of the course. In the first strong breeze of the year, for many
of them the retrieval of gennakers proved to be a significant factor and
some ended up having to sail longer windward legs than expected. In the
first race it became apparent that boats sailing to the shifts made the
most gains. Under the lee of the Meon shore the northerly wind was much
more susceptible to shifting and the boats that chose to go for the
laylines tended to lose out. Two boats dominated the J/80 class. Rob
Larke (J2x) won all three races and he was followed home each time by
Ian Atkins in boats.com. After a series total of twelve races, J2X is
leading by over 20 pts. Lying second is Nick and Annie Haigh's SLIGHTLY
STEAMY with 43 pts, followed in third by Stew Hawthorn's J'AI DEUX
AMOURS with 62 pts. Fourth is Patrick Liardet in AQUA-J with 64 pts and
fifth is Ian's boats.com with 75 pts.Next weekend the pace hots up with racing on both days for the Warsash Spring Championship, including a section with trialists for the Dolphin Brewer’s Commodore’s Cup. The fifth week of the Warsash Spring Series continues on Sunday 22nd April. Sailing photo credits- Eddie Mays For more Warsash Spring Series sailing information
